Live In Concert

I love live music. Since I was 7, I have literally seen hundreds of concerts in both large and small venues. The first concert I ever saw was 1973 at the Kansas State Fair when I saw The Osmonds; all of them! Either that same year, or the next, I saw Tony Orlando and Dawn in the same place. I've been hooked ever since. I prefer small venues such as bars to see live acts. It doesn't matter if I've heard of them or not, I'll still go see them. Locally there are 3 bands that I think are fantastic. The Soul Preachers, The Benders and Russell Sawyer and the Lost Cause. You can catch these guys all the time, you just have to look for them. Russell Sawyer recently opened for Cross Canadian Ragweed in Hays! I wish I would have seen that! I saw Journey in 83 on the Frontiers tour; Bryan Adams opened that one. I've seen Van Halen with Dave and with Sammy and I've seen Sammy and Dave by themselves. I saw Kid Rock last February in KC, for the third time, this time with Dickey Betts and Rev. Run. I saw Bon Jovi with Cinderella on the Slippery When Wet Tour; Ozzy Osbourne with Queensryche and I saw Social Distortion at the Beaumont in KC. I've seen Shooting Star 6 or 7 times, Quiet Riot with Whitesnake as the opener and ZZ Top with the late, great Jeff Healey. I've seen Elton John twice; once with just him and once with Billy Joel; two of the best shows I've ever seen. I've seen Dio, Twisted Sister, the Jacksons, Hall and Oates, Donnie Iris, Kansas about 6 times, J. Geils Band, the Eagles, Loverboy 3 times, Santana, Boston, Aerosmith, Dokken twice, Def Leppard and Blue Oyster Cult. And it's not just live rock that I love. I've also seen Willie Nelson, Garth Brooks twice, Little Texas, Travis Tritt and Trisha Yearwood and I would go see them all again. I was also fortunate enough to hear Doc Severinsen perform and got to spend some time with him while he rehearsed. My old music teacher set that up for me and it was priceless! I was able to see BB King at TPAC just a few weeks after he turned 80. What an experience that was! 80 years old and he can still make Lucille squeal!! I also saw Jonny Lang at TPAC. He's a blues guitar prodigy and I saw him while he was still playing blues/rock but was also starting to slide into some gospel work. Another incredible show. I still want to see Neil Diamond, Bruce Springsteen and Eric Clapton before I, or they, die. Neil Diamond is in KC next month, but I'm going to have to hit my boss up for a raise! Maybe he'll read this!!